Powerful Pantry Staple: Garlic

A world without garlic would be a decidedly duller and less tasty place to be. No garlic bread? No lemon garlic chicken? No plates of pasta bathed in garlicky cream sauce? Here is everything you need to know about this potent and pungent pantry staple.

Garlic is in the allium family along with onions and leeks. But unlike onions and leeks that grow in layers, garlic grows in bulbs with a dozen or more individual cloves. These cloves are so powerful that only a few are needed to season an entire dish with peppery garlic flavor.

Garlic cloves also contain less water than onions, so they tend to brown (and burn) more quickly. Add minced garlic along with the seasonings toward the end of a stir-fry and cook them just until fragrant, about thirty seconds or so. Cooked garlic loses its bright raw flavor and becomes more mellow and subtle.